Mannix Library is an academic theological library located in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...

, Australia. The library specialises in the areas of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

and associated disciplines, and supports teaching and research at

Catholic Theological College Catholic Theological College (CTC) is one of the constituent theological colleges of the University of Divinity, an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. The college is located in East Melbourne, Victoria. History ...

and the wider

University of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

. The student body includes candidates for ordination, lay men and women, undergraduate, postgraduate and higher degree by research students, and members of the general public. The library uses OCLC's World Share Management System.

History

Mannix Library was founded in 1923 as part of

Corpus Christi College, Melbourne Corpus Christi College is the regional seminary (and theologate) of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The seminary is administered by a board of episcopal trustees comprising the archbishops of Melbourne and Hobar ...

, the provincial

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for the Catholic dioceses of Victoria and Tasmania. Over time, the seminary and the library were located at Werribee, Glen Waverley and Clayton. When Catholic Theological College was established in 1972, library services were extended to staff and students of the college. When the library relocated from Clayton to its current site in East Melbourne in 1999, the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin Rite metropolitan archdiocese in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was eleva ...

assumed responsibility for its funding. At the same time the library was renamed Mannix Library after long-serving former Archbishop of Melbourne,

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Maynoo ...

Design

Mannix Library and Catholic Theological College are co-located in the same building, which was designed by Melbourne-based architect

Gregory Burgess Gregory Burgess is an Australian architect based in Melbourne, Victoria. Burgess is especially notable for his buildings for Indigenous communities in Australia, and for his participatory design approach which has produced some remarkable and un ...

. Gregory Burgess Architects received several awards for the construction of the Catholic Theological College building. These included the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (VIC) Commendation: The Melbourne Prize in 2000, and the Australian Property Institute, Heritage Property Award in 2001.

Special Collections

In February 2019 Mannix Library officially opened its new Special Collections Room. The library's Special Collections include rare books such as pre-1800 works and incunabula, a Catholic Heritage Collection, a Hibernica (Irish history and literature) Collection, a

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

Collection, previously owned by

Richard Divall Richard Sydney Divall (9 September 1945 – 15 January 2017) was an Australian conductor and musicologist. After nine years as a music producer at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, from 1972 on the invitation of Dame Joan Hammond he bec ...

, and an ISCAST Science and Religion Collection.

Archbishop Goold Collection

James Alipius Goold James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812–11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia. Life Early years Goold was born in Cork, Ireland. Upon leaving school he entered the Ord ...

was Melbourne's first Catholic Archbishop. During his lifetime he amassed a significant personal library which on his death was left to the diocesan library. The Archbishop Goold Collection includes over 1000 discrete volumes. Many items have been digitised and are available via the University of Divinity's Digital Collections website. The Goold Collection has also been incorporated in Atla's Digital Library.

Rod Doyle Collections

Items in these collections originally belonged to Br Rod Doyle CFC, a Christian Brother, who taught New Testament studies at Catholic Theological College for many years. The Rod Doyle collections include ancient artifacts such as pottery bowls and lamps, ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine period and a collection of over 200 ancient coins.

Events

Mannix Library staff contributed to the Australian Research Council-funded Discovery Project (DP 170100426), ''A Baroque Archbishop in Colonial Australia: James Alipius Goold, 1812-1886''. The project was recently chosen by the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

as one of the best 100 research projects in Australia in a flipbook they published online. The article specifically mentions Mannix Library and the rare books room created to showcase Archbishop Goold's collection and the exhibition held at

Old Treasury Building, Melbourne The Old Treasury Building on Spring Street in Melbourne, built 1858-62 as a home for the Treasury Department of the Government of Victoria as well as the Governor In Council, now houses a range of functions, including a museum of Melbourne histor ...

from 31 July 2019 – 2 March 2020, ''The Invention of Melbourne: A Baroque Archbishop and a Gothic Architect''.

Collaboration with other Libraries

Mannix Library is part of the larger University of Divinity library network. All members of the University may borrow from all associated libraries, which share a joint Library Collections Policy. Mannix Library staff manage the University's online Library Hub. Four libraries associated with the University of Divinity, including Mannix Library, will implement a shared Library Management System in early 2021. Reciprocal borrowing arrangements are also in place between the University of Divinity and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

libraries. Mannix Library is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Theological Library Association (ANZTLA). Mannix Library Manager, Kerrie Burn, is a member of the Atla (formerly

American Theological Library Association The American Theological Library Association (Atla) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), professional association, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Atla's member libraries and librarians provide resources for scholarly research to tens o ...

) Board of Directors. A previous role on Atla's International Theological Librarianship Education Task Force lead to a 2020 publication and contributing a chapter on Theological libraries in Australia and New Zealand.

External links

Mannix Library Website

References

{{authority control Christian libraries Academic libraries in Australia Research libraries in Australia East Melbourne, Victoria Libraries in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Libraries established in 1923 1923 establishments in Australia